When I'm Gone
by demigod-and-thief18
Summary: A one-shot about how the Seven plus Nico and Hedge close the Doors of Death. It's based off the song When I'm Gone by Randy Newman. Warning: Angst!


**Hey guys. So this is just a one-shot of an idea (I just barely edited it) that popped into my head one day while watching the finale of ****_Monk._**** The song is called ****_When I'm Gone_**** by Randy Newman. I suggest that you go onto YouTube and listen to it before and/or after and then weep with me. For all of my fellow****_ Monk_**** fans, it's the song in the finale at the end.**

**Pairings: Leo/Hazel, Piper/Leo (brother/sister way), Piper/Jason, Hazel/Frank, Percy/Annabeth. The last three are only mentioned and you sort of have to squint to see them.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

Frank, Jason, Leo, Hazel, Nico, Piper, and Coach Hedge ran to the Doors of Death. They could see two figures in the darkness.

"Percy! Annabeth!" Hazel called out.

They stopped outside the Doors and met up with their near-dead friends.

"Ambrosia, nectar!" Jason shouted and Hedge quickly gave him some. Jason fed it to Percy and Annabeth, who were too weak to say anything.

After a minute Percy choked out, "Monsters. Following."

"Behind you?" Hazel asked softly and Percy nodded.

"We have to close the doors. But that means…someone has to stay in Tartarus." Frank said slowly.

Everyone was silent for a moment. Then Hedge straightened up and said, "I'll do it."

Nico shook his head. "Coach, you can't. Only a demigod or god can close the Doors."

Hedge mumbled a few curse words and started attending to Percy and Annabeth's wounds again.

"Guys, we need to close the doors! Monsters will just keep coming out of Tartarus if we don't!" Piper exclaimed. "I don't want it to happen, but it needs to."

Everyone was silent again until Leo stepped up. "I'm going in."

"You'll never make it out alive!" Nico warned.

"So what? None of us would." Leo shrugged. "But it's not like you guys will miss my fire powers or anything. I'm just a hazard."

"Leo, don't go!" Hazel begged, tears coming into her eyes.

It was time. They had to say goodbye to someone, and it was going to be Leo.

Leo secretly hoped that they would never go to the Doors of Death. It made him guilty that if they never got to the Doors that Percy and Annabeth would be stuck there forever, but he knew that he would have to make sacrifice when he got there. And that scared him.

Leo looked at Hazel and felt his heart break. His first true love and he had to leave. "I'm sorry, Hazel."

He couldn't help but ask. "Are…" Leo started and then continued to ask sheepishly. "Are you going to miss me?"

"Of course, Leo." Hazel said, her eyes teary.

He thought his life had no meaning. Leo was about to commit suicide before he met Piper. His life just kept going the wrong way and although he tried many times to fix it, it stayed broken. He still remembered the time he and Piper first met:

Leo noticed a lone girl sitting by herself. She was the girl that stood up to the popular girls. Leo couldn't help but walk over to her and sit next to her.

"Hello, my name is Leo Valdez, but you can call me anytime." Leo winked.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Alright, Anytime."

Leo frowned. "Huh, so that didn't work?"

"Keep trying, and maybe, just maybe, I won't say yes."

"Fine. But how you stood up to those girls took some guts."

It was Piper's turn to frown. "You saw that?"

"Of course I did! Everyone did! And it was pretty awesome." Leo winked again. "What's your name?"

"Piper McLean. And you're Leo Valdez, right?"

"The one and only."

And ever since then, Piper and Leo were close friends. But then she fell for Jason.

Leo had a lot of good memories, but he didn't have many good memories after Jason came (not that he hated his best friend, of course). That's when he became the third wheel again. But there were still some memories he held on to.

Sadly, most of Leo's memories were bad. His mother dying, running away, running away again, running away 6 times, and pretty much everything about being a demigod.

Piper helped Leo realize that his life may be horrible, but that doesn't mean it will always be horrible.

Now his life is going to have meaning. He's going to help his friends and make the ultimate sacrifice.

"I'm going to miss you, Leo." Piper whispered as she hugged her best friend, her brother.

"Jason, take care of Pipes." Leo told his best friend. "And if you don't, I'll haunt you."

Jason grinned. "I would expect you to. But don't worry, I will."

"Pipes, you're like my sister. I'll miss you, Beauty Queen." Leo hugged Piper and tried not to cry.

Piper choked out, "You're like my brother, Repair Boy. And I love you, but in a brother/sister way."

Leo grinned, though it hurt. "Good, 'cause I don't like the other way, for us at least."

Leo's goodbyes to Percy and Annabeth were short. They could hardly speak (either from the trauma from Tartarus or they were in too much physical pain) but managed to say goodbye. Hedge patted Leo on the back and called him 'the toughest cupcake he has ever met.' Nico and Leo just shook hands and Nico wished him luck.

Leo turned to Frank. "Dude, I'm sorry that we couldn't have been better friends."

Frank smiled. "Me too. I guess love does crazy things, huh?"

Leo chuckled. "Yeah, it does. But promise me one thing: I want to be the first to show Hazel a chicken nugget."

Frank grinned. "I wasn't really making plans for her to try one, so the job is all yours."

They did one of those 'man hugs' and Leo turned to Hazel.

"Leo, please don't go." Hazel whispered, her cheeks streaked with tears.

"I have to." Leo told her and wiped her eyes. "But hey, maybe when you get to Elysium, we can go to Wendy's. You still need to try a chicken nugget."

Hazel laughed. "Of course, let's go to Wendy's. Leo, you're so…you."

Leo grinned. "Hey, after all we've been through it's the least that I can do."

Tears came into Hazel's eyes again. "I don't want to say goodbye."

Leo stroked Hazel's hair. "Then let's not say goodbye. Instead, let's just say so long."

Hazel slowly pressed her lips against Leo's for a moment, and then pulled away, giving Leo his first kiss…and his last.

"Keep burning. You're not a hazard, you're a light." Hazel choked out, smiling through the tears.

Leo realized that he was better than he was before. Before meeting the Seven all he did was run away from his problems. But now he has learned to face them.

Knowing all of the Seven helped him control his powers, strengthen his confidence and strengths, and ignore his weaknesses.

"I'll miss you all." Leo called as he stepped through the Doors of Death.

Leo knew he was going to miss everyone as the Doors closed, but he made sure that he smiled so everyone could see, so that everyone knew that Leo Valdez lived through everything while wearing a smile on his face.

**Wow…I really wish I didn't write this. It makes me cry...I don't want Leo to die! I hope Rick doesn't do this...But to be honest, I don't even think it's going to happen…I think that Octavian will close the Doors of Death. That would be a pretty good plot twist and since he reminds everyone of Luke and Luke dies a hero in TLO, it might just happen…who knows? Well, read and review!**


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